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TOP DOGS 25-10-06
Karl Watson and Tom Warnock
Warnock says...
Finally, after nearly four years of waiting and battling against our (once) smug faced rivals, we can celebrate a victory over the Toon. Long overdue, I think you'll agree.
Even with the exit of the paternity worn Viduka, the revived Yakubu followed up his game winning performance against Everton by doing what his international team-mate in black and white couldn't do.
Newcastle seem to have made an art out of buying overpriced, inferior players when cheaper and better players are available, and have already proven themselves in England. A comforting side note; Yak cost £2.5m less than Martins.
Enough about the zebras though, and more about the top dogs - it sounds good doesn't it, and perhaps it's true. We'd all like to believe that we are the top dogs now; if it wasn't for the worry of an impending reality check then we wouldn't have any qualms about declaring our North-eastern superiority. We tend not to jump the gun as do the hyperbolic Geordies, but if you think about it, we are the top dogs.
As the home and away support engaged in the ritual slanging match, we met Geordie cries of 'Shall we sing a song for you' with the oh-so-satisfying 'Shall we win a cup for you'. That must have hit a nerve with the Toon fans, and yet while they acknowledge that in our recent history we have in fact WON a trophy, been to four Wembley finals, and marched all the way to Eindhoven; the Geordies will still not concede the title of top-dogs. Hopefully, Sunday was the first step towards taking that title from the retreating black and white army.
In fact if you were to ask just a handful of Boro fans prior to last Sunday's game they would likely say that we should win the game, although many dared not tempt fate and considering their record against us, we all knew that it was a game we should have won. Why? Because we all know were better that they are.
Even over the last five years we have always been threatening to overcome them, and we did by finishing above them the season before last. It was only a late surge which spared them last season, and the wave of confidence in Roeder that was so evident then is slowly scattering into the usual impatient Geordie grumbles.
While Newcastle have attempted to force proceedings due to their over-demanding support, the Boro backroom staff and academy staff have been sowing the seeds which are now showing the benefits. The tying up of Lee Cattermole to a new four year deal emphasises this to the full. A year ago he was a reserve player and a mention of the name around the terraces would have brought replies of 'Lee who?'
This is just one brick in the road to success, with Cattermole and co. following in the footsteps of Stewart Downing. It's only two wins however so we must keep our feet on the ground. Well we can get carried away but the players must stay fully focussed. This is where Gareth will excel as a manager; he's played under the greatest of pressures, both at the Boro and previous to that. Now the team have gained some momentum and confidence, his guidance and direction will only help now.
It was never an issue of the tactics, but the personnel, and they must continue to play to there potential. OK, Sunday wasn't the prettiest but it was a derby, and we won. Stewart Downing commented that we must move forward, and build further on these two victories. Let's not go for a point at City, let's go for all three. Let's go all guns blazing and see how they can cope with the nuisance of Yakubu, the dominance of Woody and the crosses of Downing - who made life a misery for Stephen 'Fat 'Ead' Carr on Sunday - England critics take note again.
It's never easy in football but if we can perform to the best of our abilities, have belief in ourselves and keep working hard, we will be the top dogs for a long time to come.
Watson says...
By five o'clock on Sunday evening many Middlesbrough fans were able to breathe a huge sigh of relief as the Teessiders climbed further away from the drop zone with a terrific win over close rivals Newcastle at the Riverside. Of course, we would have all preferred a less nervy finish to the game however, I did say before I would have taken any sort of win against a team we rarely defeat.
The post-match interviews saw contrasting views, Roeder arguing that the first half was one way traffic. To be honest I'm not sure what game the ex West Ham United manager was watching. The only traffic that Roeder would've seen and passed on the way back to Tyneside would have been cars slapped with Middlesbrough F.C stickers. In all honesty, Newcastle were the better side during the first half but Roeder merely had sour grapes come full time. Who can blame him; he is the manager of a quite awful side.
Football is quite a simple game Mr Roeder. The team that scores the most goals wins. It's all very good creating chances but if you can't score goals you will not win games. The game played at the Riverside a few years back ended 1-0 to Newcastle when Middlesbrough completely dominated proceedings. It just goes to show it's not how much of the ball you have or how many chances you create, its how many goals you score, and the one was just enough on Sunday.
Although the first half performance was not great it was all about the three points that were gained. In my previous article I expressed how we must be beating opposition that are below us in the league at home, and although we failed to dazzle we did pick up the valuable three points.
What did worry me however was the first half performance. Newcastle did create a few really good chances that they really should have converted; if that had been a side in form and confidence then maybe the game would've concluded differently. My worry is that if we continue to begin games in such a poor manner then we will be behind early on in many games, and we all know we struggle to win when trailing.
Statistics show that this season, we have won three games by one goal, yet lost three games by one goal. It shows that we are not too far away from winning many games and it's something that has to be addressed. I feel when we are in front many teams will struggle to break us down as we start to play pulsating football and everyone's confidence rises. If we are able to address this problem then we may be able to win many games. I'm sure no one would complain at 1-0 wins every week.
The defence on Sunday really impressed me at times. I was very surprised not to see Southgate elect Woodgate and Huth, a partnership that waters the mouths of many fans in the Holgate End. Although Pogatetz did well, Gareth was right to change things at half time as we were clearly on the back foot. The tactics worked very well and we looked solid. Huth unfortunately has a tendency to dive in frequently which eliminates him from play if he does not pick up the ball and this was how Newcastle created their chances in the second half.
Again Jonathan Woodgate played well, though I'm sure he was the most relieved person on the pitch when Obafemi Martins struck the top of the bar and not the top corner of the goal. I am very confident in the defence we currently have and if Woodgate and Huth play regularly together I can see them winning the hearts of many Teessiders. I feel they are a pair that can stop many forward lines.
Although receiving criticism off a high profile newspaper, I thought Jason Euell did well on Sunday and it appears that he is proud to wear the red and white of Middlesbrough. He gets himself into good positions, creates space for himself and others and looks like a useful player. I just wish one of those shots he had from the edge of the area had ripped the net in half. When it does then maybe we will see Euell at his best. You can tell from his body language that he is desperate not only to score his first goal for the club, but to win over the fans and not let the team down.
I was not particularly impressed when it was announced the English man was heading to Teesside but he has impressed me from his debut against Arsenal to Sunday's game against Newcastle. He just needs to continue his work rate and efforts and that goal will come soon.
Thank goodness Yakubu appears to be finding a little bit of form and has rediscovered his scoring boots. That's now three in four for the Nigerian. His goals have been sorely missed on Teesside, especially when Mark Viduka has failed to hit top gear, and the midfield are lacking in firepower. Yakubu has never ceased to impress me ever since his arrival in the Premiership. He is a goal machine, he has pace and power and providing we are able to put good balls into the box, he will be there to finish.
However, Yakubu's goals depend on quality service, the type of service we saw from Stewart Downing. I thought Downing answered a lot of his critics on Sunday with what was a marvellous display. He was unlucky not to get on the score sheet and on another day he could have been walking home with the match ball. His pace terrified Stephen Carr and Downing showed his ability with both left and right feet. I know I am not the only one who is hoping Stewy finds more consistency for The Boro than he has for England and he continues to deliver top class performances week in week out for the mighty reds.
So with two wins in a row, surely we will get turned over by Manchester City. After all we all know it takes months and months to get back to back wins in the Premiership. Manchester City are in a very similar position to Newcastle, they have failed to win in their last three and they are team that will be extremely low in confidence and morale. It's fair to say that Manchurians take their football very seriously and if City are not performing to a suitable standard, the fans at the City of Manchester Stadium will begin to get on their backs.
Their last game against Wigan was a master class in how not to defend and I feel they are there for the taking. I would in all honestly take a point away from home, but maybe if we start brightly and get a lot of balls into the box we can leave with all three? Of course we will have to try and stop Joey Barton from creating chances and watch Samaras up front, but I'm sure Cattermole and Woodgate can take care of them.
The game against City will not be an easy one. They will look at our recent performances and will obviously fancy their chances. We all know how things can change at the Riverside after one result, for example just look at Chelsea then Portsmouth. So, I am not going to be counting any chickens here. I would be very happy with a point.
The next three fixtures are games we are more than capable of taking points from. After we travel to The City of Manchester Stadium, we then face a trip to London to play Watford, a game that won't be easy by any stretch of the imagination. After Watford Premiership action once again returns to the Riverside for the visit of West Ham. Currently, these teams are struggling for goals, form and confidence and if we are to begin to climb the table we have to look at taking something from all three.
Right now things look good on Teesside but we all know it could change very quickly, and it may not be long before people begin to call for the head of the manager and the dreaded 'R' word returns to the lips of fans. We have to start taking points away from the teams that are in or around the situation we are in. It will make our season so much easier to bear.
However we all must keep our feet on the ground. Two home wins does not make us a European or top half side. We are still in the bottom half with our attention still on how we can get out of a relegation dog fight.
So come on Boro let's start by taking something away from the City of Manchester Stadium and maintain our status as the top dogs in the North-East.
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